Development of luong bamboo (Dendrocalamus barbatus) plantations, with more productive and sustainable practices, promises solution to address both problems of poverty and soil erosion currently faced by a major part of the population of several districts of Northern mountainous areas of Vietnam. In Thanh Hoa Province, were about 55 000 ha of luong represents the major source of income of a large part of the inhabitants, 50 per cent of the population, mainly ethnics, is still leaving beyond the poverty line. They are also facing a major problem of widespread soil degradation. Despite farmers are concerned by soil erosion and environmental sustainability, it is not a driving force in their adoption of new practices and they keep on looking for strategies allowing a quick improvement of their incomes. Lessons from experience outlined the relevance of a participatory research approach to define and disseminate new technologies allowing farmers to get high income while ensuring environment sustainability. This communication deals with the main lessons drawn from these 3 years of on-farm-research and extension work on intercropping in new luong plantations, from both technical and methodological point of views. It makes recommendations on the best practices to be promoted, but also shows the difficulty to implement on farm research and promote bamboo plantations despite its many interests.
